Washington, DC – Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson today introduced the “Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act.”  The legislation will include hate crimes against homeless people in the uniform hate crimes statistics collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“From 1999 to 2007, there have been 774 reported cases of violence against people who are homeless, including 217 that have resulted in death,” Congresswoman Johnson said.  “Homeless advocacy organizations have tracked these statistics in the absence of uniform law enforcement reporting.  It is clear that homeless people are targeted simply because they are homeless, and it is time for the federal government to start tracking the number of violent attacks more closely.”

Congresswoman Johnson coauthored the bill with Congressman Robert Wexler, and it has 13 original co-sponsors.  It will add “homeless status” to the list of categories on which the FBI collects hate crimes data, which currently includes actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability and sexual orientation.

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.